What a fun, zippy mystery. My favorite thing about this drama is that it’s so pretty to look at. (And I’m not even talking about Lee Min-HOT.) It’s got some seriously sexy cinematography, and a fictional world I already take to—it’s a heightened reality, which feels like a comic book. Think: Alias rather than 24. It’s maybe a slight difference genre-wise, but a massive difference tonally. It may be this drama’s only real connection to its original source manga—not story, not character, not anything else, but the feel of a pulp comic kind of world. Which I gotta say, I totally dig.

EPISODE 2 RECAP

After finding out the truth about his birth parents, Yoon-sung decides to fulfill his destiny to avenge his father’s death. He begins to train and study fervently, while his surrogate father Jin-pyo builds his drug empire, from huts to mansions.

Yoon-sung gets accepted into MIT, and Dad furnishes him with a new identity, as an American citizen from Texas. Well that’s a handy way to avoid paying international students’ tuition… which maybe isn’t a concern for a drug lord, so yeah…

Dad tells him the rules, now that he’s about to leave home and assume a new identity: “Trust no one. Love no one. The moment your identity is revealed, you and those around you will be stained blood-red.”

Seven years later, Yoon-sung arrives in Seoul. He stands in a plaza in the middle of the city, unaware that KIM NANA (Park Min-young) is standing but a few feet away.

Nana gets a call and rushes to the hospital, where she’s behind on hospital bills, and the doctors are threatening to take her comatose father off of life support, and refusing to operate on him. The doctor tells her that it’s been ten years that he’s been in this state; it’s time to let go.

Tears streaming down her face, she pleads with the doctor to please save her father, and that she’ll scrape the money together somehow. She seems to blame herself for his condition, saying that she’s the reason he’s lying there like that.

Nana is quite the odd-job fiend, juggling as many part-time jobs as humanly possible, and then some. One of these is a designated driver service, and she rushes from work to go pick up a customer…

At the same time, Yoon-sung is at a club, talking on the phone to “Ajusshi” (Shik-joong) about someone who has a bunch of odd jobs, and mostly works at night for a designated driver service. He’s clearly talking about Nana, having looked into her whereabouts as a favor to him.

He’s joined by a drunk girl, and they head out to make a night of it… only to find that the designated driver waiting for them is Nana. This is their first official encounter, but he’s clearly aware of who she is, from her photo and his background research on her, for Ajusshi’s sake.

He doesn’t let on that he recognizes her, and they get in the car, only to be chased down by KIM YOUNG-JU (Lee Joon-hyuk), who wants a word with Yoon-sung’s date. When he can’t locate his ID, he tries to force her out of the car, and before Yoon-sung has a chance to stop him, Nana jumps out.

She handily throws him over her shoulder in her sparkly dress and heels, without even breaking a sweat. She’s one cool cucumber, enough to impress Yoon-sung. Heh, love a girl who kicks ass.

Turns out Young-ju is a prosecutor, who tracked the woman down because she’s senator Lee Kyung-wan’s girlfriend. That man happens to be Yoon-sung’s Target No. 1 as well, which means these two are about to cross paths in more ways than one.

On the car ride, Nana squirms at the level of very public foreplay going on in the backseat, missing out on the fact that all Yoon-sung seems to be doing is staring in the rearview mirror at HER. Um, awkward.

She finally can’t take it anymore and just pulls over abruptly, announcing that she’s done driving. He follows her out and she tells him that she’ll only take 10,000 won, half her usual pay, for taking them this far.

He scoffs and refuses to pay up, and so she reaches in his pocket and scoops out his wallet for herself. Is it just me, or are all the women on this show getting mighty handsy with this boy? Not that I’d, yunno, do differently.

She takes out the 10,000 won and declines a tip (to herself, heh) and leaves them in the street. Problem is, once she’s at the bus stop, she realizes that she left her cell phone in the playboy’s car, of all godforsaken places.

Said playboy is busy enjoying a nightcap with his honey, while also plying her for information about her sponsor. Pretty ballsy to actually have him sleep with her for information. I like that he’s not squeaky clean, as far as heroes go.

He records their conversation, asking about the money that he gives her, and if she’s seen where it comes from. She confirms that it’s dirty money, but has never actually seen him take the bribes himself, though she does know that he writes it all down in his little notebook. Bingo.

Meanwhile, Nana chases them down to the hotel to ask for her cell phone back, and calls up to the room. She’s met with a swift denial, not only because he’s annoyed but because he’s in the middle of getting crucial information.

So she stands outside the car, kicking it for a while, which sets off the alarm and manages to grab his attention. He runs down in his bathrobe, but by the time he gets downstairs, Nana has seen her phone ring with a call from the hospital, and has rushed off.

At the hospital, she begs the doctor again to operate on her father to save him, and promises to repay the cost any way that she can. He tells her that it’s time to give up on him, which she can’t bring herself to do.

She cries, pleading with him, until Yoon-sung’s voice calls out from down the hall, “Let’s do that surgery.” He tells her that the bill is already paid in full, and leaves her phone before walking out.

Shocked, she follows him out and asks why he’s helping her. He tells her he’s not helping; he merely doesn’t want to know that someone died because of him. He turns down her request to pay him back, adding that to him, that amount of money is the price of a stick of gum.

Nana: “It’s true that I’m someone who sweats for the price of that gum, but that doesn’t mean I’m someone who doesn’t know how to say thank you. Thank you.” He drives away with a glace at her in the rearview mirror, while she says to herself, “I will repay you.”

While her father gets the operation, Nana receives a phone call, accepting her into the Blue House as a secret service agent-in-training. She jumps for joy and soon after reports to her first day of training, nervous and happy.

She’s lined up for her first roll call, when Yoon-sung strolls in. The lead agent yells at him for being tardy on his first day, and dressed inappropriately at that. Everyone turns around to see who he’s talking to, and Nana gasps to see none other than playboy-turned-daddy-savior standing right there.

Confused, Yoon-sung tells him that he’s not an agent-in-training, and that the front desk told him to come here. That’s when geeky intelligence agent GO KI-JOON (Lee Kwang-soo) runs in, calling Yoon-sung, “Doctor!” (The PhD-professor kind, not the medical kind.)

Nana: “Doctor? MIT?” Yeaaaaaaah. I know. Let’s just go with it. Frankly, you being a secret service agent isn’t exactly… MORE believable than his being a doctor, so here’s the moment where we all just take a big leap and choose to roll with it. Okay? Okay.

He turns to go, but then sees Nana out of the corner of his eye, and calls out, “Hey, Ten Thousand Won!” Mortified, she turns around, but he seems happy to see her there. The lead agent asks if they know each other. Yoon-sung: “Yes.” Nana: “No.” Heh. I already see the potential for much delightful banter to come.

Yoon-sung is introduced to the communications department as the MIT-golden-boy, and despite Ki-joon’s efforts to turn him into the traditional maknae (workplace newbie, also youngest at 28), Yoon-sung makes it clear that he’s not going to be anyone’s lackey.

He turns away the delivery menus for late-night food-runs, explaining that one of his contract stipulations was no late hours. Ah, because hunters hunt at night, yeah? Either that or you’re a vampire, but I don’t think that’s where this is going.

The lead training agent informs Nana and another female agent that he’s pulling them out of training for a special assignment—the President’s youngest daughter is a bit of a handful, and her secret service detail quit without notice. They’ll take over immediately.

She sneaks over to the communications department to see Yoon-sung and insist on repaying the hospital bill. He reminds her that working other jobs isn’t allowed while she’s employed here, but she doesn’t think it’s a problem as long as he keeps it quiet.

Yoon-sung, “It seems like you’re trying to use this to DO something with me, but you’re not my type. Do I need to buy you a mirror too?” Oh, DAYUM. He walks away, leaving her slack-jawed.

It appears that the communications team and the secret service agents have a little in-house rivalry going on, which they put to a judo-wrestling contest. Um, I’m gonna go ahead and bet against the geek squad on this one. What kind of Brain Trust deduces that they ought to challenge the President’s bodyguards to a test of physical strength? Pffft.

Yoon-sung gets paired up with Nana, and he basically lets her body slam the hell out of him, to keep up geeky appearances. She insists that he hand over his bank account number so that she can repay him, refusing to let it go.

Yoon-sung: “Why are you being so stubborn?” Nana: “Because it’s the price of saving my father’s life. He’s the most important person to me. The most important, so I don’t want it for free. The more important someone is, the more you have to survive and protect him, when things get difficult.”

The funny part is, she’s saying all this while lying on top of him, and he finally looks up at her for a moment. She twists his leg, literally, until he finally caves and agrees to let her repay him.

Shower broody time! We see that Yoon-sung’s back is covered with scars, not surprising given his militant upbringing, and that he still wears the bullet that pierced his father’s heart around his neck.

By the by, I love the vengeance trinket, because of the fact that it went through his father’s heart in his final act to save his best friend, and then lodged in Jin-pyo’s shoulder… and then that man KEPT IT THERE for seventeen goddamn years until he was ready to tell Yoon-sung about his purpose. That’s hardcore dude.

He comes up with a plan for Nana to repay him, knowing full well that she’s just going to spend late nights being a designated driver again. So he offers for her to be his driver and errand-doer every once in a while, and figures that after oh, two hundred times or so, their debt will be settled. Ha. Contract relationship it is.

Oooh, does that make her your girl friday? Well, I guess not until you become a PI, which I’m not really sure you’re going to do, so we’ll put that title on the backburner for now.

They both get called in to meet the President, and this is the first time that Yoon-sung comes face to face with him. The sitting President is none other than Choi Eung-chan, the man who betrayed his father most directly. While they’re in the meeting, the President gets a call from Target No. 1 Lee Kyung-wan, which Yoon-sung notes with interest.

The President’s youngest daughter is CHOI DA-HAE (Gu Hara), who basically looks Yoon-sung up and down like the tall drink of water that he is, and throws him her best come-hither wink. Yoon-sung nearly busts a gut with his very audible “Pfffffft!” right back at her. Hahaha.

She tries to engage him in conversation, but he ignores her completely and gets the hell out of dodge. Nana and her partner, SHIN EUN-AH, get introduced to their charge, the bratty Da-hae, who is post-high-schol, pre-college (as in, couldn’t get in so she’s going to an academy to reapply). She seems like a hellbeast trapped in the body of a girl. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Yoon-sung takes a moment to give a progress report to Dad. He reports on Senator Lee Kyung-wan, he of the clean image and dirty money. Dad tells him that the senator must be dealt with. Yoon-sung asks something that he’s been curious about: why has he only given him the identity of one of the five men he’s to take out?

Dad tells him that of the Big Five, he knows only one person’s identity for sure: Lee Kyung-wan. Oh, LIES. That’s Lie #1 from Daddy. Interesting that he’s keeping the President’s involvement out of this for now. I assume it’s because “Assassinate the President” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as an order.

Dad tells him to start with Lee Kyung-wan, and make him reveal the identity of the others. Yoon-sung asks what Dad’s purpose was in sending him to the Blue House. Errr…. To put a bullet in the President’s heart is the real answer, I’m betting, but Dad’s not showing his hand just yet. Man, it’s gonna be so good when he finds out!

Yoon-sung tells him that he wants to find a way to destroy Lee Kyung-wan that he can live with, like getting him caught for doing something that people will never forgive him for. Dad seems pleased with his initiative, so he plans to stand by and let Yoon-sung call the shots.

Hotshot prosecutor Young-ju is knee-deep in an investigation of his own, targeting the same dirty senator. He ruffles enough feathers to make it onto the news, and Yoon-sung immediately recognizes him from the night at the club, realizing that they were both after the senator’s girlfriend for the same reason. He smiles, a little impressed at his moxy.

Both boys head to the senator’s house, but their means of entry says a lot about them, as people. Young-ju goes in the front door to confront him with the investigation, while Yoon-sung scales a wall, makes friends with the guard dogs (via whistle), and slips in the back door.

Young-ju’s visit riles up the senator, who either has convinced himself that lobbying and bribery is simply a means to justify the righteous, for-the-people ends, or he’s got the defensive act down pat.

Young-ju shows that he is a very classic by-the-book prosecutor: he rebuffs the senator’s claims to friendship through his father, and points out that unjust means lead to unjust ends. The senator counters that his father is no different (uh-oh, dramaaaaa), and threatens him with his career.

Meanwhile, Yoon-sung listens to their conversation while cloning the senator’s phone and snatching his little notebook, full of names, dates, and whadduya know… exact amounts in bribery funds. Why does the bad guy always have a ledger? Ah well. Bread n butter of the gumshoe genre. Humphrey Bogart never would’ve solved a case if it weren’t for bad guys keeping good books.

The senator’s phone rings and they discover Yoon-sung mid-grab, but he blows the power and sneaks out, easy as pie.

In her modest home, Nana hangs up her suit, clearly her one and only, bought for her new job. That totally strikes a chord with me—I so remember the stress of getting my first real job, and then realizing that I couldn’t actually afford to dress myself for said job.

She picks up a family portrait and tells Dad that she wanted to become a secret service agent who protected the President, just like him. “It’ll happen someday, right?” God, I really hope for your sake it doesn’t. She pats herself on the head, like her dad would, and gives herself a word of encouragement. Aw, that kinda kills me.

On her first day on First Daughter detail, Nana makes the mistake of body slamming a classmate who comes to retrieve his notes, like he’s about to knife her. Whoops. Hellbeast throws a fit, screaming that her DAD is the President, not her. Sigh. I feel for you, and yet when you act like that, I have no sympathy.

She decides to retaliate by going clubbing, and hands the agents their outfits for the night. What? They’re not undercover cops. They’re secret service detail. She says they’re not supposed to stand out, so off they go, to the club.

It happens to be the same club where Yoon-sung is making time with the senator’s girlfriend, who asks if they’re going back to the hotel tonight. He asks why she hasn’t been running off to see her sponsor lately, and she tells him that they broke up. Or rather, that he changed his phone number and hasn’t called.

Damnit. That’d be because of his little break-in. Realizing that this lead is now cold, he unceremoniously dumps her too, just like that. She chases him out, trying to coax him back, which is when he sees Nana standing right in front of him.

Thinking on his feet, he grabs her in a kiss. Hot damn. Nana’s eyes bug out of her head and she stands there in shock. The senator’s girlfriend gets a good slap in for his cheating ways and leaves.

Yoon-sung tries to snap Nana out of her daze, quite pleased with himself for the effect he’s had on her. He takes out a large bill and tucks it into her sleeve, as payment for her “designated kiss,” (which makes a little more sense in Korean: proxy kiss, as in proxy driver) calling it enough to count for 50 errands/pick-ups.

Dude, you are an ASS. Hahahaha. He turns to walk away, which is when Nana finally comes to her senses and throws him over her shoulder with her signature move. “Does it hurt? Here, you can use this to pay for your hospital bills,” and she hands him the money. HA. Sassy girl for the win.

Problem is, Da-hae has used this opportunity to slip away with her friends, so Nana runs off to find her. Outside, she runs into Young-ju, who’s still trying to track down the senator’s girlfriend. He helps her find Da-hae, and she offers to get him the girlfriend’s number, from the “Bad Luck Bastard.”

At work the next day, Yoon-sung pages her for her first errand—bringing him coffee, and she gives him a notebook to fill with stamps for every errand. He wonders why she didn’t just take the offer of knocking 50 of them out with the kiss, and she counters that he ought to be apologizing for using her.

He scoffs that it wasn’t a kiss; it was a hello. Um, HI there. *waits patiently for kiss*

Yoon-sung: “Why are you acting like I stole your first kiss?…” She looks away awkwardly, and he giggles, “Couldn’t possibly… Is that what that was? Really?” She scurries away in embarrassment, while he has a giggle fit. Keh.

Time for the Brain Trust to get more judo training from the secret service. Nana tries to teach Yoon-sung some moves, but he just keeps staring at her and giggling like a fool. So cute.

She slams him down and asks what he’s looking at, and so lecherously at that. He’s like a dog with a bone: “Be honest. It was your first time, right?” She answers in banmal and he takes issue with it, noting that she’s a year younger than him. But she one-ups him—she’s the instructor here, and they go tumbling down, her ankle twisting in the process.

Young-ju shows up at the Blue House to ask Yoon-sung directly about information on the senator’s girlfriend. Yoon-sung plays it off like it’d be a waste of cell phone memory to get a one-night-stand’s phone number, and Nana eavesdrops, her jaw dropping at the magnitude of his playboydom.

Young-ju catches up to Nana and offers her a ride to the hospital to x-ray her ankle, but Yoon-sung pulls up first, insisting, “I’m the one who made her ankle that way,” and she chooses to go with him, leaving Young-ju behind.

At the hospital, Nana recognizes two children who live in her building, running off. The nurse calls out and tells them to go eat at the Sunshine Welfare Office, which immediately triggers Yoon-sung’s memory—this is something under Lee Kyung-wan’s purview.

The nurse complains that the children keep having allergic reactions to flour, but continue to eat bread because they don’t have to worry about hospital bills. They’re the recipients of a government grant, which Nana suspects is some mistake.

As they leave the hospital, Nana sees the children eating more bread out on the street, and they panic and run away. She asks Yoon-sung to chase after them, and they nearly get run over by none other than Lee Kyung-wan himself, on his way to drop off his son.

Yoon-sung drops off Nana at home, but when he sees her hobbling up the steps and then falling over in pain, he scoops her up and carries her all the way home. He decides he’s hungry, so he starts looking in her cupboards, and happily cooks up some ramen.

As they eat, he looks around and sees all the red stickers on her stuff, wondering what it means. He actually doesn’t know, not having grown up here, so she explains that her mother died in the accident that put her father in the hospital, and because of the hospital bills, the bank’s been threatening to seize all her assets. But now that she’s dutifully employed, she doesn’t need to worry about it anymore.

There’s a knock at the door, and the neighbor boy from earlier comes crying, saying that his sister has collapsed. They rush her back to the hospital, and the doctor tells them that she probably went into shock from the allergy.

Back at home, Nana asks why they aren’t eating rice, and finds out that their father has abandoned them, and that they’re basically starving. The next day they go to the social welfare office to suss out why the children aren’t getting their welfare checks.

The man tells them that they’re listed as receiving monthly food stamps from Sunshine Welfare. To top it off, the man in charge of the distribution of funds arrives, and his name rings a bell—it’s one in Lee Kyung-wan’s ledger.

Yoon-sung basically reaches the same conclusion that we do—this man is siphoning welfare funds to pad the senator’s pockets. He alludes to it indirectly, by asking pointedly whether the children are lying or he is, but Nana drags him out before he causes more of a riot.

On his way out, he starts casing the joint, noting where all the cameras are positioned. He looks back at the man, who is already busy shredding documents to cover his tracks.

COMMENTS

Hm, not the best way to end an episode, for a drama based on intrigue and action, but hopefully they’ll step up the cliffhangers from here on out. Otherwise I like it so far, despite my reservations for how the second episode would live up to the first, which was a great way to set up the vengeance plot. What a strong opening that was.

This episode took a lighter tone and felt more relaxed, giving us plenty of ways to connect with the characters emotionally rather than plowing us down with too much Council of Five business. This way I’m already attached to characters like Nana, who is so far a kickass heroine who ACTUALLY has a good head on her shoulders. (I know! This shouldn’t be so rare!) It makes for smart, sexy banter between the leads, and some great situational comedy amidst the drama.

It’s clearly going to be a big problem when Yoon-sung discovers that the President is the man responsible for his father’s assassination, if Nana lands her dream job… to protect him. It’s the kind of setup that inherently creates conflict between them on a massive scale: love vs. country, ideology, and vengeance. Bring. It. On.

yay! thanks for the recap. i’m getting more on board with city hunter. They’ve set up the storyline pretty well so far, albeit there’s nothing too new there with the storyline. i like how the hero isn’t squeaky clean, and although it doesn’t excuse his actions, i think it’ll make the drama more interesting.

OMG I was so sure i was not gonna watch this drama. Thank you dramabeans for the review. I gave it a try. Now I am totally hooked.

I agree with you on “very pretty to look at”. Mind you i am not just talking about the cast which, the picture as a whole. Very clean, it remind me of Dr.Champ and Bad Guy.
And Love the OST, which is always a plus point.

I also thought I wasn’t going to watch past ep 1, but I am in love. Oh Lee Min Ho, sigh. This drama is actually a really good mix of romance, suspense, action, and drama so far. I really like Kim Na Na as well. You’re right, there’s somethign so clean about the way it’s executed.

Oh I actually really liked a man called god.
besides from the obvious crappy script it was actually pretty fun to watch.
I guess it was one of those dramas that took alot of patience to understand, but once you gave it a chance it was okay.

So far city hunter is doing a batter job at the whole revengful plot thing.
Plus this has some Aclass vet actors and a good writing team.
Give it a few more episodes to take over your penchant for ‘best love’

Same here!
Many people have said not to see the similarity between the manga and the drama, but I don’t think so. Although there are many differences between the two the vibe I get from the main leads’ (easy-going and cool guy / kick-ass girl) interraction is the very same…

1.they implemented even the secretary thing: with the contract relationship – making it even more obvious he ain’t a merely employer – she has an honor debt – so she won’t give up that easily to be errand-doer
2. the guy is an Ass and a PLAYBOY but we love him anyway
3. all manga cases were had gorgeous women : in this episode we saw already one
4. his sense of justice is the same as in manga – and they played this card in a way that went straight to my heart
5.they need to improve the cliffhanger thing at the end of each episode coz this time wasn’t there

It’s good that they’ve kept the tone deliberately light on this one as I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be lotsa angst down the road. I’m really crossing my fingers on this one.

Though I still think Lee Shi-young should’ve been given this role, Park Min-young is growing on me as kickass Nana. However, sometimes I see Kim Yoon-shik, darn it! Some facial expressions are maybe personally Min-young’s that she brought on for her SKKS’ role and that I would forever associate with Yoon-shik. Nevertheless, I hope her kickass character remains consistent ’til the end. I have some rather painful memories of (self-proclaimed) “strong” heroines that ended up being damsels in distress rescued again and again (think Pierce Brosnan Bond girls. Gah!) Yeah, that’s one reason I bailed out early on a certain mon-tues drama because she was so darn plucky in the beginning but she’s turning to be so boring and two-dimensional for my (exquisite kdrama heroine) taste.

I like Hara in Invincible Youth but judgment’s still out on her acting skills. And what’s with her make-up and clothes? Is she like the bridesmaid to PMY’s bride that she has to look that bad? I know she’s prettier than that.

I was also surprised at the weird cliffhanger on this episode but I’m actually more bothered with the sound effects in this drama. Sometimes it’s just too loud that it sounds inappropriate for that particular scene. It’s like the background sound stays on the same volume for the whole run of the drama.

Lee Min-ho, I’m just so proud of you!

But on the whole, this is an interesting 2 episodes so far. This is what I really wanted Athena to be like. I can’t wait for Wed-Thurs for my 2 greatest loves (geddit? hihi).

JB & GF: Thank you again for continuing this recap. Got my hopes up earlier when I saw the thumbnail pic for City Hunter at the bottom of your site under In Progress Recapped Series. Take your time please with City Hunter so you can get enough sleep. I love that you both liked CH so far because I got really annoyed at some other blog sites I’ve checked covering CH and their judgment on CH was just way-off and negative. And I really loved going to their blogs too. Even if I knew all along that they’re not as objective as you two in your recaps. *sigh* I’m off to read this again and watch part 2 of 1N2D’s actress special. I’m excited about your recaps on that too!

agreed about her facial expressions! i kept seeing kim yoon shik too. for example her little tongue-stick out… i was thinking who actually sticks out their tongue when hanging up laundry? and it was something quite characteristic of kim yoon shik, no? i distinctly remember him/her doing that in the skks. well i guess it’s just a park min young thing. hmm so-so about her acting.

Hm, I don’t know about BOF but He wasn’t more good than SYJ in PT! You watched her others dramas or movies? Because if you did you would know how well she played Ga In… she played very well how her character was to meant to be!

I watched PT because of her. Btw.

Also is not everyone who finds LMH handsome or like his acting, deal with it!

You could say that about all dramas, but from what I’ve seen from BOF, LMH knows how to play the cold faced urban guy pretty well and thats required here so I would disagree and say that he’s the best for this role and casting was done well.

I think this combination of actors and actresses (Goo Hara aside because we haven’t seen enough of her acting) is well suited for this drama. This is the BEST combo. Usually good potential dramas muck up by having a bad group of second leads or a so-so actress/actor but this casting was done and collectively is fantastic.

So….either stop watching this drama or criticize something worthwhile about the drama

I’m soooo happy they let him keep his mischievous and playful side and haven’t turned him into a totally grim revengeful hero his ‘Dad’ is!
I almost cry of happiness when I hear Min-ho’s laughter 😀
And also, I’m strangely addicted to the violin soundtrack

I didnt really like the first ep, but this one really caught my interest. I like the way the heroes look together, and the plot is really unusual. Looks like they spend good money on production.
And Lee Min Ho in the shower right away in the sec ep, yaaayy.. cant wait for ep 3

Thank you so much. When I found out that she was going to be a bodyguard, I had a Power Opponents flashback. I was so disappointed with that drama. They built her up to be this kickass agent and she was a mess. I really hope they don’t go that route with this drama.

you dont know how much i’ve been refreshing this blog for 2 days now just for this…and how worried and sad i was when day after day passed wondering if you ladies are so disappointed with the episode especially when other articles keep coming out.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

i dont mind waiting at all. i know you both are so busy what with so many dramas to recap. but with no words from you girls about if this drama will take a while to come out, my mind gone wild thinking of many possibilities.

hells yes. i am loving this drama. i was surprised at the preview, because things seemed to be going a bit too quickly. i’m already dreading the conflicts that will arise between surrogate father and son as he fights all the evil in the city, between the two protagonists …

i’m surprised people commented on the acting in a negative light. i’ve always thought LMH acted outstandingly, even if the dramas he starred in weren’t … uh, top notch. the leads are great with a range of emotions, and the older cast are some of the best.

this is going to be an awesome drama. LMH is okay… i actually really can’t wait to see the next drama Kim soo hyun is going to be in after Dream high, i reckon he’s a really awesome actor. But i love Park min young and Hara seems ok too, but by far the most interesting character is the badass surrogate father! fuck he is soooo slick and the badddest mofo out… i can’t wait to see him kick ass all over Seoul
and the ahjusshi. what is his connection to Nana? hmm..

Only problem with City Hunter is the main love interest always dies. If the main guy actually falls seriously in love with a woman she is… dead. So if they stay true to the series, this is gonna have a sad, sad moment at some point. 🙁

Thanks for doing this one. It was a different show than the first. I like the balance of light and dark, which works if they get the foreshadowing, pacing and music right.

Did you guys ever think that one day, to surprise you, that one of these gorgeous K-men would show up and plant one on you for the publicity? I mean, if someone deserves a hot wet one from LMHot, for example, it is you two.

Kind of an expensive way to spend their “ratings getting” capital, but I am really happy they brought out the good china. Maybe that means they plan on a gorgeous spread for us every episode? I hope!

I liked how I felt watching this, giggly, a couple of “Ohhh!” and some “Ah-has!” and every time I stared deep into his eyes, they were beautiful. When they weren’t on screen, I waited ever so not patiently for them to return. Then, when he came back, he brought his eyes with him and I scanned them again, checking to see if they were still beautiful, and they were, and it was good. *sigh*

As GF mentioned, there were also a lot of “Like THAT would happen!” or “Like he would say that!”

How does his talk with dad go next? “Ya, you know that part about not getting close to people or falling in love, um, does setting up a 200 encounter contract to see a pretty girl that I have crushed on since I was 17, and on whom I have pinned all my emotional happiness now that my real dad and surrogate mother are dead count?”

Oh oh! Was it my imagination, or was the senator’s girlfriend played by Min Young Won from BOF? Cause that career path from Shinhwa University grad to senator’s mistress makes the most sense of anyone’s out there!

First of all, see it from perspective of the dad (and maybe the culture). The mother will have easier time to live and new life (remarried etc) without having the baby around.

Second, the dad may need the baby to deal the punishment to the actual dad who was betrayed by the country. It’s one thing for the dad to enact the revenge himself, but it is/feels different when the offspring of the ‘victims’ deals the blow.

It makes sense.

The recap also misses few things, the dad understands the first target the most (as in his character: being shaddy and corrupt, refer to the screen splash), rather that the dad only knows two names out of the 5 (plus the, now, president).

how do u think the daddy can kill them himself when everyone knows who he is and he doesnt even know all the five targets yet. Only the president and LKW. before he manage to kill all five, he himself will be killed first. after all, the targets are very powerful people.

btw, i think the storyline is very interesting. well, of course some of the plots are questionable. but this one seems different than the normal revenge story we have in kdrama.

i think YS is shaping up to be the City Hunter like some people have already mentioned. He seems to not feeling that passionate about his revenge compared to JP (as of right now). that make sense since JP is the one who went through that time, while YS wasnt even born yet at that time. thus him wanting to bring them down in his own way than killing them off which what JP would have want to do.

from the preview looks right JP will come and want to kill the target straight away. in ep2, they show YS becoming more affected about the injustice around him. the ending is the starting point where YS become angry with how they’re treating the child.

also, i remember in one of the posters earlier showing five characters smiling, walking together including YS, Nana, the prosecutor and two other ladies with one dog. i think they will fight together in solving the crime or something with YS at the same time doing his revenge unknown to others.

and i agree about Nana’s dream of wanting to protect the president will be a major conflict between her and YS. what more, the president is also a complex character. he’s not downright bad like the first target now. he asked JP to kill him before because he felt guilty.

anyway, i somehow find the music sometimes off in this episode. i really like how they use the music in Ep1. at times intense and at times touching, at very appropriate scenes. the music they use for the romantic or comedy scenes in this episode doesnt feel right for me, a little disturbing at time. but thankfully, its not that bad like in BOF or PT.

while some people enjoy either Ep1 or 2, i love both episodes so far. i agree Ep1 is a very strong first episode, rarely happen with other kdramas especially for an action drama. but i enjoy watching YS’s character and his interaction with Nana in this episode so much that i love both episodes equally now. i agree that both episodes have different tone. but i like that for every tone, they give their fullest. so every scenes are enjoyable and no fillers. i think how this episode can be lighter make sense actually, thus why surrogate daddy will come back next week to knock our boy back to his sense haha.

He had the extreme urge to go to the bathroom so he had to jump out the window to relieve himself. But then afterward he lost his chance and thought, ah well, I’ll just use this kid. It might take a decade or two. But just you wait, bad guys.

I don’t know but this second episode seems so different from the first, it’s like thriller (ep 1) vs rom -com(ep 2). And how come the protagonist didn’t get angry at his adoptive father who had lied to him about his real father, about his mother? Oh well, I’ll have to wait and see what happens next but I don’t feel hooked or anything.

how can he be angry when at that moment his step father just save him and lost his leg in his place.

about thriller vs romcom, yes, i agree the tone is different for both episodes. but if we look at the plot in this episode, its about LYS becoming an MIT, LYS and Nana’s interaction, LYS trying to get evidence from the target’s girlfriend and the problem involving the kids. theres really not much action they can put compared to Ep1 when it shows the backstory of his father’s death and him growing up being trained to get revenge. i dont know, i’m watching following the story and not for action or any specific genre. i think they successfully buy me into the story now.

in just two episodes we manage to see the backstory of the revenge, the setup of the love relationship, the rivalry and possible partnership between LYS & the prosecutor, the beginning of the revenge and the build up of LYS character of becoming a city hunter like in the manga i believe. there’s a lot of things i must say have happen in just two episodes alone. i really like the pace of this drama. and while its fast pace, it still manage to touch me at the right moments. however, i do agree, it’ll be great if they can balance it out more. but so far, i’m already enjoying it so much, so i have no problem with it. i think the story flows nicely.

Yay you guys are continuing with CH.
Either way i’m loving City Hunter.
This is Bad Guy done right!
This might make me sound really shallow but i’m obsessed with LMH’s hair
>//////<
I hope you guys recap this or Ripley.
Even Mon/Tue Recaps for a Wed/Thur drama is more than fine
^O^
I'm loving the awesomely un-draggy plot.
I hope it doesnt slow down in the middle (but with 5 bad guys to take down) they've got more than enough material.

This drama will probably not be loved by the original manga lovers but i'm grateful that i havent read it because now i can enjoy this with an open mind!

i’m also glad i havent read the manga. so i can just enjoy this show for what it is! i’m obsessed with this drama already. in just 2 episodes, they can make excited with not just the revenge, but the main characters, their future relationship, and the YS-Nana relationship. my most fav scene of this couple is when YS tease Nana during the Judo training about her first kiss with him staring at her and giggling. agree with GF, so cute!

29 supengMay 29th, 2011 at 7:11 AM

i LOVE the music whenever the vengeance plot comes in, its like a sad reminder of the revenge plan and the deaths of those 20 soldiers.

and the 2 episodes are great, nonetheless. LMH’s acting has improved vastly from BOF and PT (this was a really bleh drama even if I did not watch a single full ep, only snippets here and there on my local tv.) PMY wasn’t as stiff in terms of expressions compared to SKKS as well. 2nd lead is easy on the eye too, Hara – not bad for her first time. No complaints, so far. 🙂

i love that music too! and i really love the ost which played when the episode ends. its heartbreaking, the melody and the way the singer sings it. i didnt even understand what the lyric says but i think it will be a sad love them song for our couple.

oh btw, i am one of those who were tremendously disappointed with the casting of PMY before. i cant say i like her now, but at least i’m enjoying her scenes with LMH, and i agree, i couldnt connect with her acting in SKKS, but her scene when she cried pleading with the doctor to save her dad (after she got a phone call at the plaza) moved me. and i like her back flip. girl can actually look strong too.

Strong start!!!I hope they will be able to maintain it…and why does LMH have to be so GOOD-LOOKING??I mean, even if he is covered with mud it still looks like he is doing a photoshoot…arhg! and PMY!why are you always paired with the BOYS everyone is drooling about?huh?hahahahhah…LUCKY Girl…I have a feeling that I will be reading the manga..hahahah…MANGAs are really awesome! thanx for the recap!!!!

It’s a relief to see the recap up and that it’s a positive one!
I read the awful review over at SOOMPI and couldn’t believe how negative it was, as I had just watched ep 2 and loved it.

I think a lot of the negative, critical disconnect comes when manga readers are expecting drama writers to follow chapter and verse – and throw their hands up in frustration when the characters don’t follow the expected manga storyline. Understandable but not too realistic – that rational is what Anime is for – a happy meeting place.

As someone who has never read any of the comic/manga books, I can enjoy the drama for what it is, not what it’s supposed to be.
(I think that Tomb Raider is a good example of what I’m attempting to say. I’m getting that same flavor from City Hunter.)

So thanks, GF. I’m glad we watched the same episode and came to the same conclusions. This CH is off to a terrific, strong start. 🙂

Oooh, the scene where Yoon-sung goes to Lee Kyung-wan’s house to steal information totally made me think of Batman: Rich playboy who fights crime by night, who employs fancy gadgets along with physical stamina and kick-ass action!

Not as strong as the opener but pretty damn good I’d say! The one thing that really bothered me was the fumble with Kim Nana’s move to being part of presidential protection detail. Er, she could’ve easily had a history in law enforcement or a security job? Come on writers step your game up.

Other than that it was instant love from first judo flip. I love that she’s sassy and driven and she’s never one to give up even when the odds are stacked against her. She’s all on her own and she’s still truckin’. Ah, love her!

I am a little more on the fence about Yoon-sung, I wonder if his cool guy persona is a front? He did crack and showed his more playful, doofball self (the ramen scene, the judo scene, etc) and that’s the Yoon-sung that I want to see more of! When he’s like that they are so OTP it hurts.

In my humble opinion, episode 2 is like a different drama.(Please do not kill me-I am aware of the many fans here). It is like a rom-com. I find episode 2 to be slow and full of cliches-rich boy falling for poor girl,misunderstood meetings, the first kiss, hurt foot-boy carrying the girl,etc. I know they are setting up the love story,but more action scenes and intrigue would be more interesting.The bantering between the leads is a little juvenile,as they are supposed to be in their mid to late twenties.Too many coincidences to make it believable.I also find it unbelievable that the Blue House will hire inexperienced secret service agent and allow her to be bodyguard to the rebellious President’s daughter.PMY is not kickass and does not look like an athlete-she gives out the cute,sweet vibe. LMH does not look like a MIT 28 years old professor. Too much makeup and not a hair out of place makes LMH look like he is in a photoshoot, which is unfortunate as he does have the acting chops and great connection with the camera. However I am still on the CH boat and hopefully episode 3 and 4 will pick up.

because the AUTHOR approve this drama as an adaptation of his manga, thus the name City Hunter.

i dont know how true this is, but i read from a news translation on the web that the producer of this drama said Tsukasa Hojo wants a new perspective for City Hunter and he wants a City Hunter that he never thought before. well, whatever it is, the author approve this drama. its either this drama will show the resemblance in the upcoming episodes or no connection at all.

– The atmosphere is a little confused so far. It started out like a Bourne Identity-ish suspense-thriller in the first episode. Then it turned into a romantic buddy cop flick in the second. I don’t know if I’m able to reconcile the two.

– It looks like production cost is quite high with state-of-the-art special effects. You can see this especially in the more violent scenes. It seems they spared no expense to make the blood and gore to appear more realistic (Check out that severed leg). And yet, we still can’t get a proper kiss scene! Come on, lips barely touching is NOT kissing. I’d sooner accept ketchup as fake blood than that kind of kiss.

– Fake dad had a chance to kill the guy (now the President) in the first episode with a knife in his throat. But then thought wisely, “Hmm. I think I’ll just kidnap my best friend’s child and then raise him in a jungle to be a ruthless killing machine to take care of you guys.” Not very efficient.

– It was trippy to see Ji-hyun’s dad (from 49 Days) and Jin-guk’s dad (from Dream High) in the same scene. Are they two of the five perpetrators?

– Not sure yet if I really want to follow this drama. Lee Min-ho is in it, though.

if he kill the president at that time, you think he can still be alive after that to kill the other four targets? no way. and now that the president know he’s still alive, someone else has to take revenge for him. or else, he’ll have to do plastic surgery and completely get a new face so nobody will recognize him.

Not to mention: the actor who played Ji-hyun’s dad in 49 Days already played alongside the actor who’s doing the President in City Hunter, back in Midas. He was the eldest brother of the chaebol family (and the most useless one? XD) whereas CH’s President was then his family’s attorney – and one of the puppet-masters.

I LOVE YOU GIRLFRIDAY!
BEEN WAITING FOR THIS RECAP SINCE THURSDAY!
I admit I was REAL SCARED if you are gonna drop this!
Please continue this!!!!! I feel i can actually sleep peacefully now after your recaps! Thats how much you got me addicted!

And about the show, AWESOME! I really dig in the pair!
And Lee Min Ho is so HOT HOT HOT!

Seriously, a dog whistle? Those magically pacify dogs now? Also, when an alarm goes off and security arrives as a car drives out, they don’t follow or stop that car??? Ae-jung’s hospital infiltration scene in Best Love was more entertaining AND more plausible.

Also, we get that Na Na can throw people. Please don’t use it in EVERY scene.

At least Na Na feels like a real person I can identify with. Yoon Sung’s behavior pretty much proves that he’s a robot. He’s clearly got a good heart, but is perfectly happy to tranform himself into a murderer because it’s his “fate”?

Meanwhile he harbors no resentment for his evil-druglord-fake-father who lied to him his whole life and ruined his childhood. It seems like druglord-daddy STILL doesn’t treat him like an equal and hasn’t elaborated on anything for the past 7 years (which I guess doesn’t bother you if you wear pink pants). Can’t he please be the assassination target instead? Maybe then Yoon Sung would show some more emotion about the whole killing issue.

I’m guessing there WILL be conflict with druglord-daddy later, but I’m still disappointed in the Yoon Sung character because it feels like his emotions and motivations are based on propelling the plot forward, rather than on what he would actually feel.

Writers, please go study some other revenge-dramas. You’re missing the most important stuff! If you use love-story-angst as a quick-fix I will be very disappointed!

Good point on Na Na throwing people in every scene. But that’s one of my favorite parts of the drama. There should be an entire episode dedicated to Na Na’s mad judo skillz. So don’t let them take it away 😀

Now that you mention it -I agree the writing is lazy. I was wondering about all those coincidences and cliches.An inexperienced bodyguard for the president! Come on-a judowrestling contest between the IT guys and bodyguards just to create a judo love scene.It seems that Yoon Sung is too accepting of his fate for revenge. Hopefully there will be character and emotional development in Yoon Sung and more depths in the other characters as well.

Its just the first week! For a first week, they did a pretty decent job. First episode, they set up the story line. In 2nd, they set up the characters. The real story will begin now only.
But they sure have to make it more fast paced!

The thing I like about the show is, it doesn’t rely on just the action or production or LMH. They really are setting up depth in story and characters. Lets see where it goes

Haha, yeah good point about the whole bodyguard scenario (I also liked how Yoon Sung was just left to wander around the Blue House by himself when he showed up for work).

This show is really making me crave Time Between Dog and Wolf. Lee JunKi’s character watched his mother get murdered, and still struggled with his emotions/motivations throughout the show (which made it heartbreaking and incredibly compelling). I think the most important part of a revenge-drama is making it so the viewer can empathize with the protagonist (otherwise revenge just seems so petty, and why should we care?).

I still like this show, but I really hope they don’t squander it’s potential!

I saw this movie a few years ago. I can’t remember the name of it. It’s about the training that secret service agent candidates had to go through to get the job protecting the President. It’s even tougher and more rigorous than Navy seals training, from what I gathered. It takes more than just judo knowledge, that’s for sure 😀

OMO thats exactly what my thoughts. he’s way too cool in many scenes ( the whistle and escape scene ) just frustrate me rather than swoon. too many coincidence is sooo true ! its like hey we’re meant to be a drama series why bother to think, just put them together and audience will accept it. but LOL at the pink pants and to think he just came from US… well at least YS realize that he is a pretty boy and at least it looks good on him.